Cloud Equivalents

Scaling, placement & rightsizing

Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling vs Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets

Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling maps to Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets with autoscale.

Both manage a group of VMs, replace unhealthy ones, and scale on metrics, schedules, or forecasts.

Direct match Use it to: Keep a fleet of identical (or mixed) VMs healthy and grow or shrink it automatically with demand or a schedule.

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Side-by-side comparison

VM auto scaling groups: AWS vs Azure side by side
AspectAmazon Web ServicesMicrosoft Azure
ServiceAmazon EC2 Auto ScalingAzure Virtual Machine Scale Sets
LifecycleGenerally availableGenerally available
What it isAuto Scaling groups that keep a target number of instances healthy and scale with target tracking, step, scheduled, or predictive policies. Mixed instances policies blend Spot and On-Demand. Warm pools are supported.Groups of VMs managed as one, with autoscale (metrics, schedule, or predictive), zone/fault-domain spreading, instance mix, Spot priority mix, standby pools, and upgrade policies. Flexible orchestration is the recommended mode.
Pricing modelThere's no charge for EC2 Auto Scaling. You pay for the instances and CloudWatch alarms or metrics used.There's no charge for scale sets or autoscale. You pay for the VMs, disks, and networking.
DocsAmazon EC2 Auto Scaling docsAzure Virtual Machine Scale Sets docs
Pricing pageAmazon EC2 Auto Scaling pricingAzure Virtual Machine Scale Sets pricing
ExamsSAA-C03 SOA-C03 DOP-C02AZ-104 AZ-305

Key differences

  • Templates. An ASG launches from a launch template. A scale set embeds its VM model (or, in Flexible mode, can manage VMs you attach).
  • Modes. Azure has Flexible orchestration (recommended; members are standard VMs) and Uniform orchestration (identical scale-set VMs managed through VMSS APIs). AWS has one ASG model.
  • Policies. ASGs offer target tracking, step, simple, scheduled, and predictive scaling. Azure autoscale (Azure Monitor) offers metric rules, schedules, and predictive autoscale (CPU-based, scale sets only).
  • Warm capacity. ASG warm pools keep pre-initialized instances stopped or running. VMSS standby pools do the same for scale sets.
  • Spot mixing. ASG mixed instances policies set On-Demand/Spot ratios and allocation strategies. VMSS offers a Spot priority mix and instance mix (several VM sizes).
  • Upgrades. ASG instance refresh rolls out new templates. VMSS uses upgrade policies (manual, automatic, or rolling) and automatic OS image upgrades.

Pricing summary

Pricing models only. No prices are quoted because they change by region and over time.

AWS
There's no charge for EC2 Auto Scaling. You pay for the instances and CloudWatch alarms or metrics used. Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling pricing →
Azure
There's no charge for scale sets or autoscale. You pay for the VMs, disks, and networking. Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets pricing →

Certification exam mapping

ExamProviderLevelStatus
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate SAA-C03AWSAssociatecurrent
Italian version retires after Dec 31, 2026.
AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer – Associate SOA-C03AWSAssociatecurrent
Replaces AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate (SOA-C02), whose last exam day was Sep 29, 2025. Simplified Chinese and Korean versions retire after Nov 19, 2026.
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional DOP-C02AWSProfessionalcurrent
Korean version retires after Dec 31, 2026.
Microsoft Certified – Azure Administrator Associate AZ-104AzureAssociatecurrent
Microsoft Certified – Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305AzureExpertcurrent
English version updated Apr 17, 2026.

Relevance is based on each exam's published scope, not a line-by-line objective match. Check the official study guide.

FAQ

What is the Azure equivalent of Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling?

Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling maps to Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets with autoscale. Both manage a group of VMs, replace unhealthy ones, and scale on metrics, schedules, or forecasts.

How does pricing compare between Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling and Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets?

AWS: There's no charge for EC2 Auto Scaling. You pay for the instances and CloudWatch alarms or metrics used. Azure: There's no charge for scale sets or autoscale. You pay for the VMs, disks, and networking. Check the official pricing pages for current rates.

Which certification exams cover this topic?

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03); AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer – Associate (SOA-C03); AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional (DOP-C02); Microsoft Certified – Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104); Microsoft Certified – Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305).

Related comparisons

Official sources